European
vegetables: 'Perfect storm' raises prices

One
supplier said that a combination of flooding, cold weather and poor
light levels had created a "perfect storm" of poor growing
conditions.

Courgettes
and lettuces are likely to be much more pricey, one supplier said.

Poor
planting conditions could also affect prices at the end of the year.

Floods
in Spain's south-eastern Murcia region combined with cold weather in
Italy has meant that many field crops such as lettuce and broccoli
have been nearly wiped out, Nationwide Produce food marketing company
managing director Tim O'Malle told the BBC.

Peppers
and aubergines are among others that have been hit.

Murcia
is reported to have recently had its heaviest rainfall in 30 years
and is estimated to supply about 80% of Europe's fresh produce during
the winter months.

"The
situation has got so bad that some vegetable suppliers have taken to
importing lettuces from the US, a development that up until now has
been pretty much unheard of," Mr O'Malley said.

He
said that the recent cold snap had meant that Italy - which normally
exports vegetables at this time of the year - is now having to import
them.

The
damage to the vegetable market is especially worrying for northern
European countries like Britain - which even before the shortages
imported 50% of its vegetables and 90% of its fruit, Mr O'Malley
said.

The
price or availability of crops such as tomatoes, cucumbers,
courgettes and peppers is likely be affected, Mr O'Malley said, while
crops planted before Christmas for harvest in 2017 are also likely to
suffer.

Philippe
Binard, of Freshfel Europe, a forum based in Brussels that represents
the fresh produce industry, told the BBC that the problems afflicting
vegetable production were unprecedented, with the yield of
courgettes, aubergines, tomatoes, broccoli and peppers from Spain
down by about 25%, while prices had risen between 25% and 40%.

"There
has been a dramatic loss of production not only in Murcia but also in
the Spanish regions of Andalusia and Valencia. All this has come at a
time of heavy snowfall in Italy," he said.

A
spokesman for the British supermarket Tesco said that the bad weather
conditions in Spain had resulted "in a few availability issues".

"But
we are working with our suppliers to resolve them as quickly as
possible," he said.